When to sow alissum seedlings at home

In the world of flowers, there are commercially profitable varieties that are always and everywhere in demand and are in consistently high demand from flower growers and landscape designers. It is this flower that is alissum – a ground cover plant with very abundant flowering and unpretentious character. The shades of alyssum can be very diverse, its bushes are compact and able to grow rapidly, covering a large area of ​​uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe earth, another advantage of this plant is the honey aroma that envelops the bushes. There is nothing difficult in growing alyssum, because the plant adapts perfectly to almost any climate.

How to grow alissum from seeds, when to plant its seedlings in the ground and other planting methods will be discussed in this article.

Color characteristic

In nature, a plant called alyssum grows in Asia, North Africa and Europe. The flower belongs to the Cruciferous (or Cabbage) family and has about a hundred varieties.

Characteristic features of lobularia:

• plant undersized ground cover type;
• alyssums grow in height from only 8 to 40 cm;
• shoots strongly branched, semi-woody at the base;
• leaves are small, obovate, slightly pubescent;
• inflorescences are small, collected in brushes;
• the color of the flowers can be any (white, yellow, pink, red, lilac or purple);
• alyssum begins to bloom at the end of May, and ends in late autumn;
• the fruit is a pod with seeds, the germination of which persists for three years;
• the plant belongs to honey plants, therefore it attracts bees and other insects well;
• in nature, lobularia is a perennial; at home, this plant can be grown both as an annual and as a perennial crop;
• the flower tolerates low temperatures well (up to -1 degree);
• some varieties of alyssum can winter in a flower bed even without shelter, while the flowers retain their greenery all year round.

Variety choice

In the flower beds of the country, you can find both the original varieties of alyssum (growing in nature), and those that were bred by breeders. Also, plants with a perennial and one-year life cycle are cultivated on an equal footing. Photos of flowers and their brief description will help to deal with varieties:

• snow carpet – an annual variety of ground cover alyssum, reaches a height of 8 cm. The bushes are sprawling, compact, covered with a large number of green leaves and snow-white small flowers.

  

• Aphrodite – also an annual undersized lobularia, growing up to ten centimeters in height. Flower color can be red, purple or pink.

  

• Golden Wave – a plant with a perennial life cycle. It is a compact bushes up to 20 cm high, strewn with silvery leaves, which are covered with fine fluff. This variety blooms bright yellow. Blooms in the second year after planting.

  

• Purple Queen is an annual. The leaves of this alissum are long, silver-green. The inflorescences along the edge are painted in a rich purple hue, inside they are lighter or white.

  

• Palette – Another undersized annual, propagated by seeds. It grows up to 15 cm, has inflorescences of various shades (yellow, cream, purple, pink, brown).

  

Landing lobularia

Growing alyssum from seeds is possible in several ways: seedlings, sowing in the ground, planting before winter. With each method, you must first determine when to sow the seeds. It is equally important to choose a suitable site, because the flower, although unpretentious in care, makes its own demands on the composition of the soil and the landing site.

Site Selection

In principle, lobularia is able to grow on a variety of soils and in almost any climatic conditions. But the grower must understand that the flowering of the bushes will be more abundant and more magnificent if you plant a flower in a suitable place.

Alyssums prefer sunny areas of the garden, illuminated by warm rays for most of the daylight hours. Penumbra is also suitable for this plant, but one of the color cushions of lobularia may turn out to be looser than the rest.

Flowers tolerate low temperatures well, so they are not afraid of lowlands and areas with drafts, strong winds. Dry air is not terrible for alyssum, it can be planted next to stones, on a hill.

The soil under the alyssum must also meet certain criteria:

• be easy;
• fertile;
• moderately nutritious;
• it is good to pass air and water (have drainage);
• have neutral acidity.

If a grower has chosen one of the varieties of Pyrenean alyssum for planting in his own garden, he needs to take care of a large amount of calcium in the soil – this is the only way the plant will bloom profusely.

Seeding on seedlings

The seedling method of propagation of lobularia is considered the most reliable. It is with the help of seedlings that it is more convenient to form a flower bed, distribute the bushes over the site, fill the spaces between other flowers with beetroot.

First of all, you need to decide when to plant alissum for seedlings. If we take into account that from the moment of seed germination to the beginning of flowering of lobularia, it takes from six to eight weeks, and the alyssum flower bed should be covered with a dense carpet already in June, then the end of March will be the best time for sowing seeds.

The plant is not afraid of the cold, so seedlings can be planted in a permanent place in early May. So the lobularia will have enough time to grow and cover the ground with a fluffy rug.

The rules for growing alyssum seedlings are as follows:

1. Choose a shallow container with drainage holes (plastic food containers with clear lids work well).
2. The substrate for seedlings should be light, nutritious and neutral (ideally slightly alkaline). The soil should be very loose so that the roots of the seedlings are well ventilated and moisture does not stagnate around them.
3. Alyssum seeds are very small. They need to be distributed with great care, as evenly as possible, over moist soil. After that, it is enough to lightly press the seeds to the ground. It is better not to sprinkle them with soil, as seeds need bright light for good germination.
4. Sowing in early spring will require additional illumination of alyssum seedlings with fluorescent lamps.
5. Immediately after planting, the container is covered with a transparent lid or film and cleaned in a warm place. After 4-5 days, the seeds should hatch, and after a week, friendly shoots will appear with the first cotyledon leaves. At this time, the shelter is removed.
6. Seedlings should be watered moderately; in the phase of a true pair of leaves, alyssum is fed with a mineral complex. When the seedlings have 3-4 true leaves, the flowers dive into separate pots or cups.

Alyssum is transferred to the ground in May, when the temperature normalizes and the soil warms up well. Seedlings are transferred together with an earthen clod into pre-prepared holes. The distance between the bushes depends on the variety of flowers, and is usually 20-35 cm.

Landing in the ground for the summer

Planting seedlings is not the only way to propagate flowers. It is quite possible to plant an alissum directly into the ground, only such plants will bloom a month and a half later – approximately by mid-July.

Lobularia seeds can be sown from mid-April to early May. The site should be well lit, the soil warmed up. Previously, the soil in the flower bed is loosened, if necessary, mineral fertilizers are added and liming is carried out.

Seeds are laid out in small holes with a depth of not more than one and a half centimeters. From above, the seeds should be sprinkled with dry earth and carefully water the plantings. When seedlings appear, they need to be thinned out, removing weaker shoots and evenly distributing flowers throughout the flower bed.

Now the flower garden only needs to be watered occasionally, loosen the soil and monitor the condition of the lobularia.

Sowing before winter

Lobularia seeds tolerate low temperatures well, so this flower can be sown before winter. Alyssum is usually sown in November, when stable cold weather is established (so that the seeds do not begin to germinate).

The landing process itself is no different from the summer. During the winter, the seeds have time to harden, stratify in natural conditions, so in the spring they give strong healthy seedlings.

Lobularia is so viable that it reproduces well by self-sowing. In order for winter sowing to give good shoots, all you need is loose soil, moderate watering and sunlight.

Flower care

Alyssum refers to those plants that can grow without outside help. But in order for the flowering to be lush, and the rug to be uniform, you need to take care of the flower garden. Lobularia care is as follows:

1. Moderate watering as needed. You need to water the flowers when the soil is dry at a depth of three centimeters. Especially the plant needs moisture during the flowering period. But an excess of water will harm the lobularia – the bushes can rot and deteriorate.

   

2. Perennial varieties of alyssum are fed only once a year – in the spring. Flowers with an annual cycle need to be fed four times per season, using a mineral complex for this, with an emphasis on potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen.
3. It is recommended to cut the lobularia by 3-5 cm and completely cut off the elongated dry inflorescences – this stimulates the formation of new flowers. Perennial bushes are pruned to a third of the height immediately after flowering to stimulate the laying of flower buds for the next season.
4. The pests of alyssum are the same as those of ordinary garden cabbage, because they belong to the same genus. You can fight insects and diseases with folk remedies, such as Bordeaux mixture, or use chemicals.

Conclusion

Alyssum has proven itself as an unpretentious and very resistant plant. A thick carpet with delicate flowers looks good on any flower beds, in flowerpots or flowerpots. Often, lobularia is used in tandem with primroses: when tulips and crocuses fade, alyssum enters the stage, decorating the flower garden until late autumn.

Growing lobularia from seeds is not difficult at all: you can sow the seeds for seedlings or directly into the ground.